PLEASE BE SURE TO READ THE NSDA DISTRICT TOURNAMENT OPERATION MANUAL AND THE NSDA COMPETITION EVENT GUIDE AND ENSURE YOUR STUDENTS ARE AWARE OF THE RULES GOVERNING THIS EVENT.  THERE HAVE BEEN SIGNIFICANT CHANGES MADE TO CONGRESS. 

YOU CAN FIND THESE DOCUMENTS ON THE NSDA WEBSITE.

THE FOLLOWING ARE THE STANDING RULES FOR THE 2020 CENTRAL TEXAS NSDA DISTRICT CONGRESS.

1.  Authorship speeches are a maximum of three minutes and are followed immediately by a questioning period of no longer than two minutes.  

2.  Authorship speeches shall first be given by a senator/representative representing the school by whom the legislation was submitted.  If there is no representative of the school in the particular chamber, there may be a sponsorship speech given provided the recognition of the the sponsor follows the precedence guidelines.

3.  All speeches are a maximum of three minutes in length.

4. The first negative speech following the authorship/sponsorship speech shall have a two-minute questioning period.  All successive speeches will have a one-minute questioning period.

5.  All speeches shall be presented at the front of the assembly.

6.  Parliamentary points and questioning shall take place from the assembly.  When a senator/representative wishes to be recognized, he/she should first raise his/her placard and await recognition by the presiding officer.  Remember that under the Congress rules, recency is required in addition to precedence in determining speaker recognition.  Upon recognition, the participant should stand and address the chamber. 

Manipulation of parliamentary procedure for the purpose of gamesmanship is strongly discouraged. and senators/representatives are reminded that "participation in this event demands seriousness of purpose and maturity possessed by real-world policy makers."

7.  The "orders of the day" shall be followed as established by a random drawing of the first-ranked items of legislation for each school who submitted such.  This order must be followed exactly as stipulated by the docket and this rule may not be suspended.  Thereafter, the chamber is free to adjust the orders of the day as it chooses.